South Lake Tahoe named a silver level Bicycle Friendly Community

South Lake Tahoe is once again on the list of "Bicycle Friendly Communities," (BFC) this time receiving the silver level.

In August, the City of South Lake Tahoe applied to become a BFC and reached out to the community to participate in a survey, the results of which are part of the judging process.

The League of American Bicyclists, founded in 1880 to advocate for better roads for bicycling, represents the nation’s 57 million cyclists in its mission to lead the movement to create a Bicycle Friendly America for everyone.

Their BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation needs, while allowing them to benchmark their progress toward improving their bicycle-friendliness.

Five cities made the platinum level on the last list released this Spring: Boulder, Colo., Davis, Calif., Fort Collins, Colo., Madison, Wisc., Portland, Ore.

Bicycling is more than a practical, cost-effective solution to many municipal challenges. Even though South Lake Tahoe doesn't have big city problems, cycling is am opportunity to make the community a vibrant destination for residents and visitors, a place where people don’t just live and work, but thrive.

Since 2002, the program has accepted over 870 applications for designation and there are currently 408 Bicycle Friendly Communities in 50 states.

The program emphasizes that bicycling is a simple solution to many of the challenges we face in our country. As South Lake Tahoe residents know well, bicycling is about mobility, sustainability, health and recreation.